Paulinho started in the Premier League for the first time since March 2nd this evening and helped Tottenham Hotspur achieve an emphatic 5-1 win over Sunderland.

The Brazilian made an unspectacular return to the starting eleven but was solid nevertheless and showed excellent energy throughout.

Head coach Tim Sherwood has previously stated that the Brazilian needed to fight for his position after Paulinho himself admitted he wasn’t used to being on the bench.

And Sherwood handed the 25-year-old the opportunity at White Hart Lane today and although Emmanuel Adebayor and Christian Eriksen overshadowed him, the Brazil national team coaches would have been pleased to know their midfielder was in action again.

The former Corinthians man played 88 minutes before being subbed to a good ovation from the home crowd.

The Brazilian had an impressive pass completion rate of 88% and contributed defensively with two tackles and an interception.

Arguably Paulinho’s greatest quality shown in this appearance versus Sunderland was his excellent pressing which caused various mistakes by the away side in the first half.

Overall it was a solid if not spectacular return to the starting eleven but the Brazilian is sure to just be happy starting again after injuries and form issues previously.